International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)
Volume 3 Issue 6, October 2019 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470
Internet of Things: Challenges and Solutions
Matthew N. O. Sadiku, Adedamola Omotoso, Shuza Binzaid, Sarhan M. Musa
Roy G. Perry College of Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Texas
ABSTRACT
The Internet of things (IoT) is a relatively new concept. It presents numerous
benefits to consumers and proves a financial boon for businesses. Pervasive
introduction of sensors and devices into currently intimate spaces, such as
homes, cars, and wearables, poses some challenges. There are also challenges
in deploying IoT by government agencies and private industries. This paper
attempts to address these challenges and offers solutions.
How to cite this paper: Matthew N. O.
Sadiku | Adedamola Omotoso | Shuza
Binzaid | Sarhan M. Musa "Internet of
Things: Challenges and Solutions"
Published
in
International Journal
of Trend in Scientific
Research
and
Development
(ijtsrd), ISSN: 24566470, Volume-3 |
IJTSRD29302
Issue-6,
October
2019,
pp.1098-1100,
URL:
https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd29
302.pdf
KEYWORDS: Internet, Internet of things, challenges, solutions
INTRODUCTION
The Internet has evolved to be an ever more pervasive and
critical infrastructure connecting society and enabling global
commerce. The next phase of the Internet is the Internet of
things (IoT), which connects smart things or devices
equipped with sensors. IoT may be regarded as an extension
of the Internet in which large numbers of devices are
networked. These devices communicate with each other
without any human interaction. The amount of data that IoT
devices can generate is staggering.
The IoT represents one of the most significant disruptive
technologies of the century. Consumer products, cars and
trucks, sensors, and other everyday objects are being
combined with Internet connectivity. We are surrounded by
the Internet of things every moment.
The central concept of the Internet of Things is to connect
anything, anytime, and anywhere through Internet. IoT is
being deployed across the globe to solve some of the most
pressing issues. Although the Internet of Things (IoT) is
gaining wide acceptance, some companies are reluctant to
implement it. Several challenges need to be addressed in
order to encourage continued IoT deployments.
OVERVIEW OF INTERNET OF THINGS
The term “Internet of things” was introduced by Kevin
Ashton from the United Kingdom in 1999. Internet of Things
(IoT) is a network of connecting devices embedded with
sensors. It is a system of interconnected computing devices
that permit interaction between people to machines, people
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to people, machines to people, and machines to machines. It
envisions everything in the physical world will be connected
and integrated securely through Internet infrastructure. As
shown in Figure 1, devices or things can be connected to the
Internet through three main technology components:
physical devices and sensors (connected things), connection
and infrastructure, and analytics and applications [1].
The IoT architecture is typically divided into three layers, i.e.
perception layer, network layer, and application layer. The
perception layer is responsible to extract information from
things and to transform it into a digital format. The network
layer transports the digital signals via the network, while the
application layer transfers digital signals into different
contexts. This is illustrated in Figure 2 [2].
There are four main technologies that enable IoT [3]:
1. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) and near-field
communication (NFC).
2. Optical tags and quick response codes: This is used for
low cost tagging.
3. communication systems (such as WiFi and ZigBee ),
4. Wireless sensor network (WSN): They are usually
connected as wireless sensor networks to monitor
physical properties in specific environments
These technologies enable devices to be smart.Other related
technologies are cloud computing, machine learning, and big
data.
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International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
IoT is an enabling technology that provides various kinds of
services like supply chain automation M2M, pedestrian
navigation, remote appliance avoidance, and air quality
control. IoT helps people and communities by making their
systems smarter and their lives easier, more secure, and
safer. IoT transforms ordinary products such as cars,
buildings, and machines into smart, connected objects that
can communicate with people and each other. These
applications have given birth to smart cars, smart homes, e
smart refrigerators, smart cities, smart parking, smart
health, smart environment, transportation, shopping,
agriculture, lighting, grid, and energy. From smart grid to
data analytics, all future technologies are a part of IoT. For
example, IoT solutions like RFID tags and GPS sensors can be
used by retailers to monitor the movement of goods from
manufacturing to when a customer buys it.
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
The Internet of things is a technology that can fundamentally
revolutionize the way we live and interact. This fantastic
opportunity also presents a number of significant challenges
[4]. The common implementation challenges that
organizations may face when implementing the IoT and how
to address them is presented next [1,,5,6]
1. Security:
Security is one of the forefront challenges because any
platform connected to IoT poses the risk of being insecure
and open to hackers. Many businesses are wary of the
security and privacy issues associated with IoT. IoT service
providers need to be sure that their data is going to be safe.
Increase in connected devices leads to an increase in
endpoint vulnerability. Many IoT platforms consider security
a core element and work to ensure that any potential leaks
are stopped before hackers find them.
Government, police and IoT device manufacturers should
find effective IoT security solutions. Security should be built
in as the foundation of IoT systems, with rigorous validity
checks, authentication, and data verification Device
manufacturers should build security into software
applications and network connection that links the devices..
Data security can be addressed by using a comprehensive
governance mode, which provides secure access to sensitive
data. Combining public and private infrastructure also can
help protect data in transit. Companies have started to look
at protecting their IoT ecosystem as well as their customers’.
When choosing security cameras, you should select the
brand that has confidential encryption, such as SSL
encryption.
2. Interoperability and Standards:
IoT consists of heterogeneous networks which connect all
kinds of devices. Interoperability is the key to open markets
to competitive solutions to IoT. The first requirement of
Internet connectivity is that connected devices should be
able to “talk the same language” of protocols. This makes
interoperability the most basic core value. Recently, there
has been a significant proliferation of Internet-capable
devices and it is unlikely these devices are created by the
same manufacturer. Implementing IoT often involves
procuring devices that do not have IoT label. The complexity
of procuring these devices and the lack of the IoT standard
can make it difficult for stakeholders. Some IoT standards
are still in development. The IEEE published its draft P2413
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standard for IoT architecture, creating a universal language
for IoT. Since IoT devices are usually purpose-built, universal
security standards are difficult to develop. The use of open
and widely available standards for IoT devices and services
will provide greater user benefits.
3. Technology Infrastructure:
Infrastructure is critical for emerging IoT applications such
as smart buildings, smart homes, smart cities, smart grid,
intelligent transportation Systems, and ubiquitous
healthcare, to name a few. Most businesses lack the
infrastructure and network components that huge volumes
of IoT data require. For a new technology, there is no need to
overinvest in infrastructure all at once. You can gradually get
more sophisticated with your IoT solutions. The massiveness
of connected devices to the Internet will pressure the
adoption of IPv6, which is a technology considered most
suitable for IoT.
4. Workforce
It is challenging to change the mentality of the current
workforce. It can be difficult to convince those in the upper
levels about the opportunities of IoT projects. Sometimes,
there is not enough technical skill to gain valuable insights
from the huge amount of data collected from IoT. Businesses
should hire experts with the relevant IoT training.
5. The “high” investment cost:
The high initial costs in IoT investments can scare some
companies off. But IoT costs are declining rapidly. IoT
projects implementations with reasonable costs are
recommended. Breakthroughs in the cost of sensors and
processing power are enabling ubiquitous connections right
now. The sensing devices such as RFID tags, sensors,
actuator, etc. be designed to minimize cost.
6. Energy:
IoT consists of various low-power embedded devices. IoT
devices are resource-constrained. These devices are not full
fledged resource-equipped, which inspired the concept of
resource-constrained Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). IoT
uses low-power lossy networks, which complicates security
issues by adding an additional constrain, energy. Since an
energy source needs to supply each sensor in IoT, a
tremendous amount of energy would be needed to run
thousands of these sensors. This is a serious challenge that
IoT has to handle. There are many ways to provide power
such as main power supply, battery, solar system, etc. Smart
devices may need to use smart battery.
These are some major challenges that influence the decisionmaking process of potential customers for a successful IoT
implementation. Other challenges include privacy and data
protection, power consumption of devices, limited battery,
global misinformation systems, global cooperation,
intelligent data analytics, big data problems, and quality of
service issues [7]. These challenges are being addressed by a
vast range of organizations and government agencies around
the world. In spite of the challenges, the adoption of IoT
continues to expand.
CONCLUSION
The era of the Internet of Things has already started and it
will drastically transform our way of life. The IoT is the
concept that everything around us from cars to laptops, can
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be connected. The widespread adoption of the IoT has
increased many folds recently. However, the rapid growth of
IoT has presented some significant challenges. IoT’s
development has been restricted by these challenges [8].
Security happens to be the most prominent challenge. More
information on challenges and solutions of IoT can be found
in the books in [9-11] and other books available in
Amazon.com.
REFERENCES
[1] “Internet of things: Security and privacy concerns,”
https://wikisites.cityu.edu.hk/sites/netcomp/articles/
Pages/InternetofThings.aspx
[2] B. N. Silva, M. Khan, and K. Han, “Internet of things: A
comprehensive review of enabling technologies,
architecture, and challenges,” IETE Technical Review,
vol. 35, no. 2, 2018, pp. 205-220.
[3] M. N. O. Sadiku, and S. M. Musa and S. R. Nelatury,
“Internet of things: An introduction,” International
Journal of Engineering Research and Advanced
Technology, vol. 2, no.3, March 2016, pp. 39-43.
[4] C. Maple, “Security and privacy in the internet of
things,” Journal of Cyber Policy, vol. 2, no. 2, 2017, pp.
155-184.
[5] N. Dyness, “Six IoT implementation challenges, and
solutions,” Control Engineering, October 2018, p. 21.
[6] L. Sears, “5 IoT Challenges and Solutions,” August 2017
https://www.govloop.com/5-iot-challenges-solutions/
[7] P. J. Ryan and R. B. Watson, “Research challenges for
the Internet of things: What role can or play?” Systems,
vol. 5, no. 1, 2017.
[8] J. Saleem et al., “IoT standardisation-challenges,
perspectives and solution,” Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Future Networks and
Distributed Systems, Amman, Jordan, June 2018.
[9] A. P. B. Purushothaman, IoT Technical Challenges and
Solutions. Boston, MA: Artech House, 2017.
[10] S. C. Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Internet of Things: Challenges
and Opportunities. Springer, 2014.
[11] Q. F. Hasan, A. R. Khan, and S. A. Madani (eds.), Internet
of Things: Challenges, Advances, and Applications. Boca
Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, 2018.
Figure 1 Components of the Internet of things [1].
Figure2 Typical IoT architecture [2]
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